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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



MOHAMMEDANISM 



A 

PSEUDO-CHRISTIANITY; 

OR 

THE KORAN AND THE BIBLE COMPARED AS TO 
HISTORY, THEOLOGY, SOTERIOLOGY, AND ES- 
CHATOLOGY. 



BY 

REV. JOHN 0. CLYDE, D. D., 

Member of the American Institute of Christian 
Philosophy. 

AUTHOR OF 

Guide to Extemporaneous Prayer; Life of Rosbr ugh- Clerical 
Martyr of the Revolution ; Life of Professor James H. Coffin, 
LL. D. -Discoverer of the Laws which govern the Winds of the 
Globe; A Time to Dance; &c. 



E ASTON, Pa.: 

M. J. EIEGEL. 

1888. 



B 4 1888-T* 



Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1888, by 
John C. Clyde, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, 
at Washington. 



STEAM PRESS OF 
A. G. CREVELING, 
BLOOAISBURYj 2?. J • 



PREFACE 



In connection with the preparation of a paper to be read 
before the Easton branch of the Evangelical Alliance, on the 
subject of Mohammedanism, we had occasion to peruse the 
Koran, with some care, and note the many places in which 
it showed a marked similarity to the Bible. Having this ma- 
terial on hand, we were prompted to put it into print, as it 
seemed suitable to throw light on the subject as alluded to by 
several articles which appeared in the public prints, in near 
proximity to each other, in the latter part of 1887. One ap- 
peared in the Interior, of Chicago, and is as follows : 

"A SUGGESTIVE LECTUKE. Probably no man in 
India has made a more thorough study of Mohammedanism 
than has Rev. Dr. Wherry, or knows better how to approach 
Mohammedans so as to win their attention. Dr. Wherry re- 
cently delivered a lecture to the Mohammedans of Saharan- 
poor, which pursued a line of thought not usually followed 
by those who are called to face those people and to endeavor 
to win them to the truth. Making the Quran (which is the 
way the Koran is now spelled) the basis of a lecture whose 
object was to lead earnest and intelligent Mohammedans to 
recognize the authority of the Bible, and so to reject the Qu- 
ran as a supreme authority on religion, Dr. Wherry contend- 
ed and proved: — 1. That both the Christian and Jewish 
Scriptures — the Old and New Testaments— were in common 
use among Christians and Jews in Medina, Arabia, in the 
time of Mohammed. 2. That Mohammed himself openly at- 
tested the genuineness of those Scriptures and inculcated 
obedience to their teaching — that he even referred to them as 
an authority for his apostleship and as an attestation of it. 
3. That those Scriptures were not corrupted after the days of 



Mohammed. That if they were so corrupted Mohammedan- 
ism is responsible for the corruption on the ground of their 
own claim. 4. No considerable or important portion of the 
Scriptures could be abrogated even on established Mohamme- 
dan principles — certainly the doctrine of a God, of his de- 
crees, of his moral laws, of his appointed way of salvation, 
the predictions of the prophetical books, and the historical 
books, could in no sense be abrogated in accordance with 
those principles. 5. Therefore, under their claim that Islam, 
or Mohammedanism, is the only true religion on earth re- 
vealed by God to men, Mohammedans are, by their own 
principles, bound to accept, read and obey the Bible. This 
chain of simple and conclusive reasoning cannot fail to be ap- 
preciated by intelligent Moslems when they attempt to an- 
swer it. It seems to indicate a line along which Christianity 
can safely and successfully advance against Mohammedanism, 
by turning its guns against itself, capturing them and using 
them for the promotion of our common Christianity. By 
some such method, one of argument and conciliation rather 
than of mere denunciation, we may hope to make what is 
now a bigoted Mohammedanism an active and efficient agen- 
cy in the Christianizing of India and Africa." 

Another appeared in the New York Semi- Weekly Tribune, 
and is as follows : 

"CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAMISM. The paper on Ts- 
lamism, which Canon Isaac Taylor read at the English 
Church Congress, recently held at Wolverhampton, is the 
talk of the hour among English churchmen. Among other 
things the Canon said that Islamism is more successful than 
Christianity in a very large part of the world. Moslem con- 
verts from paganism are more numerous than Christian con- 
verts, and in some regions Christianity is actually receding 
before Islamism. As for the nations which have adopted the 
Moslem faith, it is almost useless to try to Christianize them. 
Moreover, in India, where Christianity seems* to be making 
some headway against Hinduism, it is really only preparing 
the people for Islamism, which seems destined to be the pre- 



vailing religion of that great country. In Africa, a tribe 
which once accepts the Moslem faith never reverts to pagan- 
ism and never embraces Christianity. Canon Taylor also 
says that there is a good reason in the nature of things for 
these facts. Christianity is too lofty, too spiritual and per- 
haps too metaphysical for barbarous or semi-barbarous races 
to appreciate or comprehend. Islamism, on the other hand, 
is so material and concrete in its structure that such races 
readily accept it. Not only is ihe moral code of Islamism 
accepted in theory by these races, but in practice as well. In 
fact it at once lifts them up to a comparatively high plane of 
morality. Christianity fails to do this, and therefore the 
bold Canon concludes that Islamism has done more for civili- 
zation than Christianity has done or can do. 

"These are startling statements to come from a dignitary 
of the English Church, but that they have some basis of truth 
cannot be wholly denied. In one view it is complimentary 
to Christianity to say of it that it is too lofty to find a ready 
acceptance among barbarous races. At the same time, such 
a view of Christianity would, if accepted, effectually cut the 
nerve of foreign missions. For why should the churches 
waste their money in trying to convert people who not mere- 
ly will not, but cannot, understand or accept Christianity ? 
More than that, why should they not actually contribute 
money for the propagation of Islamism, which in the words 
of Canon Taylor causes the negro tribes of Africa to renounce 
paganism, devil worship, fetichism, cannibalism, human sac- 
rifice, infanticide, witchcraft, gambling, drunkenness, unchas- 
tity, cruelty and filth ? In fact, Canon Taylor clearly inti- 
mates that it would be wise for the church to recognize Islam- 
ism. 'We ought to begin,' he says 'by recognizing the fact 
that Islam is not an anti-Christian faith, but a half Christian 
faith — an imperfect Christianity. Islam is a replica of the 
faith of Abraham and Moses, with christian elements. 
Though the teaching of Mahomet falls grievously short of the 
teaching of St. Paul, there is nothing in it antagonistic to 
Christianity.'" * * * * * * * 



A third appeared in Christian Thought, the organ of The 
American Institute of Christian Philosophy, in the article 
giving Dr. Ellinwood's opening lecture on Comparative re- 
ligions, in the University of New York. The lecturer says :- 

"Mohammedanism, as all admit, has borrowed everything 
worthy of consideration from Judaism and Christianity, and 
it still retains the Old Testament Monotheism under another 
name." 

"Might not a strong hold be taken upon the mind of a can- 
did Moslem by pointing out evidences in the Koran itself 
that Mohammed regarded Christ as a perfectly sinless being, 
an honor accorded to no other prophet, while he himself was 
confessedly guilty of unbridled passions which only a special 
dispensation could condone." 

"With a view therefore, of throwing more light upon this 
general subject, by giving some details, we have ventured to 
offer the following pages to the public. The reader however, 
must not suppose he has here laid before him all the tenets of 
Islam ; nor is he to regard what is here said as all that might 
be said upon the teachings referred to ; but rather is he to 
regard these pages as embodying the great substratum upon 
which the Koran rests, and which has iterated and reiterated 
the principles and doctrines treated of in many different pla- 
ces and under various phases. It is intended as a brief out- 
line to show the bearing of the tenets of Islam as they are re- 
lated to Christianity. If there should seem to be at times 
some confusion in the ideas and doctrines set forth, it should 
be remembered that we have simply endeavored to separate 
the wheat from the chaff, and have presented it as apparently 
lying in Mohammed's mind ; and that he was neither inspir- 
ed nor infallible. < 

RloOmsbury, N. J., Feb. 1888. . J. C. C. 



M 0 H A M M E D A j\ t I S M 
A 

PSEUD 0-C II R I S T I A N I T Y . 



CHAPTER I. 
Preliminary Remarks. 
It has been estimated that about one hun- 
dred and thirty millions of the human race are 
under the influence of Islam. The mission of 
Christianity being to bring mankind to a sa- 
ving knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, 
this power must be met and overthrown. In 
this work, and in all efforts to bring men to 
Christ, we must assume that mankind orig- 
inally possessed a saving knowledge of the 
truth, and that this knowledge has been lost 
or obscured in consequence of the sin commit- 
ted by the federal head and representative of 
the race. Christianity furthermore assumes 
that all men are not equally sunken in degra- 
dation and ignorance, though all are lost and 
ruined by nature. In attempting therefore to 
A 



t 



2 

evangelize any particular nation, tribe, or class 
of men, it is pertinent to inquire what meas- 
ure, if any, of the true light is possessed by 
them, which can be utilized in the work. 

Perhaps there is no people in connection 
with which this question is more pertinent 
than with the Mohammedans. The intelli- 
gent student of Islam will doubtless be convin- 
ced of the commonly accepted fact that, with 
unimportant references to the early history of 
christian doctrine; apocryphal writings; and 
the Midrash, or Hebrew commentaries on the 
O. T. Scriptures; tha great mass of the Koran 
has been taken from the Bible. Our aim 
therefore is not so much to demonstrate the 
truth of this, as to make an approximate esti- 
mate, in an epitomized form, of the amount of 
divine truth thus transferred and so impressed 
upon the minds and hearts of the devotees of 
this form of belief. 

Comparison as to History. 
The theosophy of Mohammed assumes that 
the will of God is written upon a tablet in 
heaven, and this has been brought down by 
Gabriel, the angel of revelation, and commu- 
nicated to mankind by prophets provided for 
every age and nation. It has been estimated 



3 

that there have been between two and three 
hundred thousand of these; three hundred and 
thirteen of whom were apostles. To promul- 
gate new laws and introduce new dispensa- 
tions which should supersede preceding ones, 
six were appointed, viz.: Adam, Noah, Abra- 
ham, Mosert, Jesus, and Mohammed; the lat- 
ter of whom has ushered in the final dispensa- 
tion. 

Of the one hundred and four sacred books 
originally given only four survive. These are 
the Pentateuch, the Psalms, the Gospel, and 
the Koran; all but the last of which, however, 
are in a corrupted form. Let us look into the 
latter and see if it is not really a perversion of 
the former. 

We find then that the material universe is 
spoken of as being created by a God who 
speaks and it is done, and the bringing order 
out of chaos is accompanied by the operation 
of a spirit as recorded in scripture of the Spir- 
it moving "upon the face of the waters." The 
time occupied in the work of creation was six 
days, two days being occupied in the creation 
of the earth proper, and four in the creation oi 
the creatures. The heavens stood firm at 
God's command. The sun and moon were 
appointed to their respective missions of regu- 



4 

lating the seasons, and there was ordained 
the succession of night and day. The earth 
was fitted up for man's u*e and the animal 
world was made subject to him for his comfort 
and^happiness, and all God's works are de- 
clared to praise him. 

With "reference to the creation and fall of 
man we find that Adam was made of dust, or 
clay, or clay and black mud. When made 
God appointed unto him his language and col- 
or and commanded that the angels should wor- 
ship him, which they did except in the case of 
Eblis, one of the Genii, who refused. Once 
made, Adam was placed in Eden, and from 
him was taken Eve to be his companion. The 
pair were placed in Paradise and warned as to 
their duty. They were made the head of the 
race of mankind, who should be lords of crea 
tion. The animals were brought to Adam and 
lie gave names to them. Satan comes, tempts 
and seduces man causing him to sin and fall. 
In the shame of the first parents of the race, 
aprons were made for them. Reference is 
made to the seed of the woman bruising the 
serpents head, aud the pair are driven out of 
Eden. The birth of their two sons is recorded 
and the first mother believes she has "gotten 
a man from the Lord." Noah is repeatedly 



5 

referred to and spokeu of as the apostle to his 
generation. He was ordered to construct the 
ark as a warning of coming evil, but his gene- 
ration would not hearken to his admonitions. 
He gathered his family and the animals by 
pairs into the ark. The flood came and his 
generation was destroyed as a punishment for 
not hearkening to the preaching of their apos- 
tle. When the waters subside the ark rests 
on the Mt, al Judi and Noak leaves it. As 
the people increase and multiply upon the 
earth there comes great degeneracy among 
them corresponding with the degeneracy at 
Babel. 

Job and his afflictions and prosperity ai?e 
held up. Abraham is set forth as an apostle 
to his generation among the apostles and was 
faithful. He would not pray for his idolatrou-s 
father's house but reproved them, and was 
cast into the fire therefor but was miraculously 
preserved from the flames. He journeyed to 
Canaan and there prepared to sacrifice his son 
Isaac, who was saved by the intervention of 
providence He was righteous in all his ways 
and worshipped and served the true God. God 
condescended to make a covenant with him and 
Ishmael, and he testified to the truth. He was 
a model Moslem and his religion was to be 



gomruended and it w&& enjoined upon the ad- 
herents of biaro to obey the law and gospel as 
fe#nt down through bin*, Three angels came 
to hire ou their way to Bodom and bis wife Sa- 
rah laughed when it w«s announced that she 
was to bear a sou to him In her old age, 

ishmae! and Isaac are brought forward a^ 
apostles, Lot is Introduced along with Abra- 
ham. Isaac, and Jacob and is commended as a 
good Moslem, He is timately associated 
with Bodom and i§ specifically de>ignated as 
the apostle to that city. We find him and his 
family residents of ft, The vile character of 
its inhabitants is brought out, Strangers hav= 
iug come to the house of Lot the inhabitants 
besiege it in an unseemly manner, and the 
daughters of the apostie are offered to them to 
do with as they may deem hmt, The apostle 
is sent out of the corrupt city by the angels 
Hud it is destroyed by a m u of stones and ba- 
ked clay. The apostle's wife is speeifficaiiy 
pointed out as having been destroyed in the 
storm which overthrew the city, 

Jacob appears as the apostle to his genera- 
tion. Allusion is made to the ladder which 
he saw in his dream, and to his receiving the 
religion of Abraham, which he transmitted to 
his sons, who are referred to as the twelve pa- 



7 

triarchs. Joseph's dream of the son and 
moon and stars bowing down to him,, typifying 
the subsequent submission of his father and 
mother and brethren to him is related. He is 
cautioned by his father not to communicate 
this dream to his brethren. "Whilst absent 
from home with them they find fault with the 
peculiar love and esteem in which Joseph and 
Benjamin are held by the father, and Joseph's 
death is devised. One of the number, corres- 
ponding with Reuben in the scripture, secures 
his incarceration in the pit or well, where Jo- 
seph receives a revelation from God as to how 
he should be revealed to his brethren at a fu- 
ture time, as took place in Egypt. The Ish- 
maelites come and attempt to draw water, 
whereupon they find Joseph and carry him 
away into Egypt and sell him. Jacob is shown 
a bloody garment by his sons which they rep- 
resent as that of Joseph, a wolf having torn 
him to pieces, whereupon Jacob manifests 
great grief at the loss of his beloved son. 

Joseph is introduced as apostle to the Egyp- 
tians of his day. He appears in the house of 
an employer, corresponding with Potiphar, 
and the lechery of this employer's wife is de- 
tailed. Joseph leaves his garment in her hand 
and the question comes up as to which of the 



8 

two was the aggressor and the guilty party. 
The woman being found guilty attempts a pal- 
liation of her offense upon the ground of the 
exceediugly great personal charms of Joseph. 
She assembles a company of her lady friends 
and allows them to behold his attractions, 
whereupon the whole party are stirred up 
with unlawful love for him, for which they are 
subsequently called to account by Pharaoh. 
Joseph however is cast into prison where two 
of the king's servants, corresponding with the 
butler and baker, become his companions. 
They each have a dream as recorded in the 
Bible, and Joseph becomes the interpreter. 
He makes a profession of faith in the God of 
his fathers and interprets the dreams, restor- 
ing the one to his place and consigning the 
other to punishment, and asks the favored one 
to remember him in his affliction when once 
restored, which is consented to but the prom- 
ise is forgotten through the instigation of the 
devil. The other servant is executed, after 
which Pharaoh has dreams of seven good and 
bad ears of com. and seven fat and lean kine. 
Joseph is remembered and becomes the inter- 
preter of this double dream, whereby he is ad- 
vanced to high position and placed over the 
king's store houses. Famine comes upon the 



9 

land and Joseph's brethren visit Egypt to pro- 
cure food. The absent brother is ordered to 
be brought. Having supplied food the breth- 
ren are sent away with their money restored, 
it having been placed secretly in their sacks 
and which is found by them in due course of 
time. They make arrangements to go a sec- 
ond time to Egypt for food and request their 
father to allow their other brother to accom- 
pany them as demanded by Joseph. Jacob 
requires an oath of them that they will bring 
this brother in safety to him, upon which they 
take their journey to Egypt. Once there Jo- 
seph reveals himself to Benjamin who is des- 
ignated by name. Food again being provided, 
Joseph's cup is put into Benjamin's sack and 
in due time the question is raised as to the 
party's having stolen the same. The brethren 
protest that he shall be a bondman in whose 
sack it may be found. It is found In Benja- 
min's sack and in the altercation which ensues 
the charge is made, apparently by way of pal- 
liation, that if Benjamin was a thief, his broth- 
er Joseph was a thief before him, whatever 
that may mean. An elder one of the breth- 
ren offers to remain in Egypt whilst the rest 
return and report to Jacob that Benjamin had 
turned out to be a thief and was therefore de- 
B 



10 

tained. This offer however is declined, Joseph 
declaring that he will retain only the thief. 
Presently Joseph reveals himself to all his 
brethren and sends his inner garment to be 
cast upon the face of his father Jacob that he 
may thereby have his sight restored and be 
brought, with all his possessions, down into 
Egypt. This accomplished, Jacob and his 
wife are elevated to high estate, and they, with 
their sons, do homage to Joseph, thus fultilling 
the dream which the apostle had in his youth. 

When we come to the period of the Exodus, 
we find Moses born in Egypt and liable to be 
slain through the edict of a cruel sovereign, 
along with the other Hebrew children. We 
find him hidden among the bulrushes, and 
cared for by his mother, and adopted by the 
household of Pharaoh. He slays an Egyptian 
and flees to Midian. Shoiab (Ilobab) appears 
as an apostle, to whom Moses i3 represented as 
serving a term of years for a wife, thus appar- 
ently confounding him with Jacob. In due 
time he comes upon the sta^e as an apostle 
and sees a burning as of the bush and hears a 
voice commanding him to put off his shoes as 
the place is holy. As he is commissioned to 
go to Egypt he receives the' sign of his rod 
turned into a serpent; also that of leprousy. 



11 

Aaron appears as an apostle and is associa- 
ted with Moses in his work of deliverer and 
lawgiver. They go as apostles to the Egyp- 
tians and confront Pharaoh, calling upon him 
to lot Israel go. They present signs to convince 
the monarch of their divine commission, and 
are confronted by his magicians, whose rods 
are swallowed np by that of Moses. A flood 
and other plagues are sent and Moses is asked 
to intercede that they may be removed. The 
magicians are converted to belief in the God 
of Moses. The heart of Pharaoh is neverthe- 
less hardened and he refuses to lot the people 
go. Now the Exodus takes place. The Red 
Sea is divided into twelve parts and Pharaoh 
and his people are drowned. As the people 
are led by Moses, in due time the rock is smit- 
ten and twelve fountains of water gush forth. 
The people come to Mt. Sinai when the sev- 
enty, elders are chosen and the law is given. 
The mountain is seen to be in commotion and 
God shrouds himself so that he may not be 
seen face to face by the lawgiver. Moses we 
find spends forty nights in the mount, during 
which time Aaron is appointed his deputy 
among the people. The law is now given, 
written upon tables of stone. Of this law we 
find every precept inculcated in a greater or 



12 

less degree of doctrinal purity ancf fullness. 
The ark of the covenant is alluded to and 
parts of the ceremonial law inculcated; such, 
for instance, as related to the eating of a thing 
strangled, or dying of itself; or that which 
had been sacrificed to idols; or swine. The 
avenger of blood is referred to and the provis- 
ion for sacrificing at a fixed place. We find 
the people clamoring for a god like the heath- 
en, and Aaron, by the hand of al Sameri, 
makes a golden calf. Moses comes from the 
mountain and is very angry at the idolatry of 
the people, and the tables of the law are thrown 
down and Aaron is dragged about by the hair 
and beard, though protesting against such 
treatment. The calf is destroyed and Moses 
becomes a consuming fire to the idolaters. He 
however intercedes for them and they escape. 

The people were organized into twelve tribes 
and led toward Canaan, manna being provided 
for them during the forty years wanderings in 
the desert. Joshua becomes the associate and 
adviser of Moses in his work as he leads a re- 
bellious people to a promised land. In due 
time spies are sent forward who bring the re- 
port that there are giants in the land! Quails 
are provided for the lustful people and the re- 
bellious troop of Korah we find swallowed up. 



13 

The period of the Judges is alluded to in the 
instance of Gideon's band who were selected 
by the manner in which they drank when com- 
ing clown to the water, Judg, 7:5; but this 
company is represented as led by one Talut. 
Talut or Gideon is apparently confounded 
with Saul, whom Samuel anoints as king at 
the clamor of the people for a ruler like the 
other nations. David is brought forward as an 
apostle and is represented as lighting with and 
slaying Jalut, and also with Jesus, cursing 
Israel. He is represented as a psalmist, and 
sentiments in the Psalms are alluded to, such 
as, not sitting in the seat of the scornful, 
which of course is applied to Islam. His great 
sin in the case of Uriah's wife is presented, 
and he is represented as passing the kingdom 
down to Solomon, who is claimed as a good 
Moslem. Solomon's commerce and great 
riches are commemorated, and a perverted 
form of the history of the visit which the queen 
of Sheba made to him is recorded. His prov- 
erbs are alluded to, such as the sluggard going 
to the ant to learn of her ways of wisdom. 

Elijah and Elisha are mentioned, especially 
the former in connection with the prophets of 
Baal on Carmel, in the days of Ahab, in which 
the sacrifice and altar were consumed by fire 



J 4 

from heaven, as recorded in I Kings 18 : 38. 1 

The work of Jonah, in the reign of Jerebo- 
ani is recorded, in that he is represented as 
being sent as the apostle to Nineveh, and is 
swallowed by the fish. Ezra is referred to in 
the statement that he and Christ are not the 
sons of God. The building of the walls of Je- 
rusalem after the Babylonish captivity comes 
out in an allusion to the performance of reli- 
gious duty with weapon in hand. Finally we 
find the Jews scattered and oppressed by the 
other nations of the earth. 

Coming down to the N. T. period, we find 
Zacharlas introduced, and the circumstances 
connected with the birth of John the Baptist 
narrated. The Virgin Mary, under the influ- 
ence of the Holy Spirit, conceives and gives 
birth to Jesus, who is directed by a divine 
spirit and is recognized as an apostle to men, 
and only this, and is classed with the other 
prophets and apostles of Islam. In his mission 
he confirmed the scriptures previously given. 
Among other things in the teaching of Christ, 
allusion is found to the demand for him to 
show a "sign from heaveu"; the house built 
upon the sand; the giving of alms which se- 
cures the hundred fold in return ; Dives aud 
Lazarus and the drop of water to cool the 



15 

tongue in torment; gaming the world and los- 
ing the soul; forsaking father and mother, 
which is represented as being for Islam : the 
came! going through the eye of the needle; 
the foolish virgins: the golden rule perverted, 
For the teaching of Islam is largely to do unto 
others as they do unto yon, and grant no for- 
givness though asked seventy times; one day 
is with the Lord as a thousand years. Allusion 
seems to be made to the Lord's Supper and 
the bread of life; the warning of JSTicoderaus 
to the Sanhedrim; and the twelve legions of 
angels spoken of by Christ, in Gethsemane. 

The crucifixion of the apostle Jesus is con- 
demned, and at the same time it is intimated 
that another was substituted for him and suf- 
fered the ignominious death of the cross. Sev- 
en heavens are spoken of in allusion to the 
third heaven of scripture probably. Angels 
are the messengers to and guardians of man- 
kind, and moreover there is the angel messen- 
ger of death. Of the last day knovveth no 
man, but when it comes the angels will gather 
men to judgment. It shall come in the twink- 
ling of an eye, at the last trump, at which 
rime the moon shall be turned into blood and 
the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll. 
Heaven is guarded, and God will be found to 



16 

have kept a book of remembrance of good ai d 
evil when man enters there, and he will find 
that there are degrees of preferment in the ce- 
lestial kingdom. The apostles of Jesus are re- 
ferred to as being at Antioch; Gog and 
Magog are brought to view; and Judaizing is 
condemned. Allusions are also made to the 
times of the early fathers wherein the Virgin 
Mary was made an object of adoration, and 
wherein orders of monks were instituted, both 
of which things were condemned by the false 
prophet. 

If this manifest wholesale plagiarism is not 
sufficient to convince the reader of the Koran 
as to the sources from which Mohammed drew 
his material in making it, he may be satisfied 
by the representations of the false prophet 
himself upon the point. The nations which 
had passed away had received their revela- 
tions, they having been communicated b}- the 
apostles in the different languages of the peo- 
ple to whom sent. They were attested by 
miracles wrought by the apostles or prophets 
solely under the divine permission. They are 
recognized by Mohammed, and the Penta- 
teuch is mentioned by name as that which de- 
scribes good Moslems. The law of Moses is 
specifically recognized and pointed to as a 



17 

guide. He declares that be was an apostle like 
unto those who had preceded him, and that 
his revelation is of equal authority with those 
going before. He moreover tells us that he 
was commanded to follow the religion of 
Abraham the orthodox, specifying that the re- 
ligions of Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and 
Mohammed are one and the same. He claims 
that the Koran is confirmatory of the former 
scriptures, and that they are equally binding 
with it. 

Such then, are the characteristics of a book 
which has had, and still retains, a strong hold 
upon the hearts and minds of these many mill- 
ions of our fellow men. It must not be as- 
sumed that what we have here presented, in 
an epitomized form, is an unimportant part of 
the sacred book compiled by the false prophet, 
&s viewed from the stand-point of history; for 
the attentive reader of the Koran will perhaps 
discover that it constitutes a predominant part 
of his stock in trade, iterated and reiterated as 
circumstances required. All outside of this 
may perhaps properly be denominated insig- 
nificant. 

C 



CHAPTER II. 



Comparison as to Theology. 

Islam claims that it is a religion sent down 
to men by God. As Christianity wa6 attest- 
ed by divine miraculous manifestations, so 
Mohammed claims the same for Islam. 
"Verily those who believe not the signs of 
God shall suffer a grievous punishment." We 
see the apostles of this faith using this mode 
of confirming their mission to men. Moses is 
represented as doing it when he went to preach 
to the Egyptians. "And unto the tribe ot 
Thamud we sent their brother Saleh. He said, 
0 my people, worship God, ye have no God 
beside him. Now hath a manifest proof come 
unto you from your God. This she camel of 
God is a sign unto you, therefore dismiss her 
freely that she may feed in God's earth and do 
her no hurt lest a painful punishment seize 
you." The gift of prophecy was claimed as a 
means of attesting the divine character of the 
revelations made by the prophets and apostles. 
"And we gave him Isaac, and Jacob, and we 



19 

placed among bis descendants the gift of 
prophecy and the scriptures." "Every proph- 
ecy hath its fixed time of accomplishment, and 
ye will hereafter know it." The warning is 
given that if the divine attestation is not rec- 
ognized, and the preaching of the apostles 
obeyed, they will stand as witnesses against 
the nations to which they were sent, in the 
great day of accounts. "On a certain day shall 
God assemble the apostles and shall say unto 
them: What answer was returned you when 
ye preached unto the people to whom ye were 
sent?" 

The Koran then, claiming to be an authori- 
tative revelation from God, what are its teach- 
ings theologically, as related to the teachings 
of the Bible? 

The God of Islam is, in almost all essential 
particulars, the God of the Hebrews, the God 
of the Bible. He is the living and true God 
who is veiled from human sight. 4, God is one 
God; the eternal God; he begetteth not neith- 
er is lie begotten." "He is God, besides whom 
there is no God: who knoweth that which is 
future, and that which is present; he is the 
most Merciful; he is God besides whom there 
is no God, the King, the Holy, the Giver of 
Peace: the Faithful; the Guardian; the Pow- 



erful; the Strong; the Most High." And so 
as we examine from page to page the references 
to this heing we see the effort made to convey 
the Bible idea of him. As to the idea of his 
greatness, we read: "If the sea were ink to 
write the words of my Lord, verily the sea 
would fail before the words of my Lord would 
fail, although we added another sea like unto 
it as a further supply." 

We see him self-subsisting, self-sufficient, 
unsearchable, and to have no other gods asso- 
ciated with him. Idols and idol worship are 
unsparingly condemned and forbidden. False 
gods are contrasted with him and declared to 
be dead and powerless, having no feet to walk 
with, or hands to lay hold with, or eyes to see, 
or ears to hear. God is to be worshipped to 
the exclusion of the sun and moon. Polythe- 
ism is denounced by name, and the unity of 
God is asserted in positive declaration, and 
negatively by denying to him companions. 
He is declared to be supreme, sitting upon a 
magnificent throne. He is the almighty and 
wise creator, who, when he "saith unto a 
thing, Be, it is." He is the governor of the 
natural world which we see around us. He is 
sovereign and to be praised. He is the owner 
of all things and recognized Lord. He is the 



21 

Judge who keeps a book of accounts against 
the nations. He is the supreme benefactor of 
men, and shall finally come into a recognized 
supreme kingship among them. This God is 
glorified by the works of his hands. "What- 
soever is in heaven and on earth worshippeth 
God, voluntarily or of force," celebrating his 
praise. 

When we view him more particularly in his 
relation to man, we find him a sovereign pos- 
sessed of intelligence. "Unto him be praise 
in the world to come, for he is wise and intel- 
ligent." His attribute of omniscience is time 
and again declared, by which he knows man's 
heart and becomes the searcher thereof "God 
is knowing and fully acquainted with all 
things." "God is well acquainted with that 
which ye do." "Verily God knoweth the se- 
crets of both heaven and earth, for he know- 
eth the innermost parts of the breasts of men." 
Man cannot hide himself from God for he is 
omnipresent. "Whithersoever ye turn your- 
selves to pray, there is the face of God, for 
God is omnipresent." ''There is no private 
discourse among three persons, but he is the 
fourth of them," The issues of life and death 
are with him. "Since ye were dead and he 
gave you life; he will hereafter cause you to 



22 

die. and will again restore you to life/ 5 He 
is moreover a God of free grace to man. "This 
is the free grace of God : he beatoweth the 
same on whom he pleaseth." lie is a God of 
great goodness and mercy. "He giveth you 
of everything which ye ask him: and if ye at- 
tempt to reckon up the favors of God, ye shall 
not be able to compute the same. 5 * "If it were 
not for the indulgence of God toward you and 
his mercy, and that God is easy to be recon- 
ciled; and wise; he would immediately dis- 
cover your crimes.'' The justice of God is 
seen in that he "will not wrong any one, even 
the weight of an ant/' "God is exceeding be- 
neficent" and leads into the right way, but at 
the same time is made the author of sin by 
leading men into error. "Whomsoever God 
shall direct he -will be rightly directed, and 
whomsoever he shall lead astray, they shall per- 
ish.*' "Whomsoever God shall please to di- 
rect, he will open his breast to receive the faith 
of Islam; but whomsoever he shall please to 
lead into error, he will render his breast strait 
and narrow."* He it is moreover, "who aceep- 
teth repentance from his servants and forgiv- 
eth sins." He is to be the final judge of man 
and his rewarder. "There is no God but he; 
before him shall be the general assembly of 



23 

the last day." "Unto God belongeth whatev- 
er is in heaven and earth; that he may reward 
those who do evil, according to that which 
they shall have wrought; and may reward 
those who do well, with the most excellent re- 
ward.' 5 

Whilst these ideas of God are substantially 
the same as presented in the Bible, when we 
come to the doctrine of the trinity, we find the 
teaching of Islam is diametrically opposite to 
that of the true religion. When we consider 
the history of christian doctrine previous to 
and in Mohammed's day, it seems most natu- 
ral and reasonable to associate this doctrine, 
or rather lack of the doctrine of the trinity, 
with the A.rian controversy, which was consid- 
ered in the first council of Nice, 325 A. D», 
and in the second council of Constantinople, 
553 A. D., the last one previous to Moham- 
med's advent. This controversy having refer- 
ence to the personality and sonship of Christ, 
it would seem that short work was made of 
the subject by simply repudiating the whole 
idea, a very easy way of getting rid of a troub- 
lesome question. Hence the Koran denies 
that God has any offspring. "Yet they have 
set up the Genii as partners with God, al- 
though he created them ; and they have falsely 



24 

attributed unto him sons and daughters, wiih- 
out knowledge." It says moreover of the trin- 
ity: "Believe therefore in God, and in his 
apostles, and say not, There are three God's: 
forbear this, it will be better for you, God is 
but one God." "By no means be one of those 
who attribute companions unto God." Christ's 
divinity is denied. "They are surely infidels 
who say verily God is Christ, the son of Mary," 
''And when God shall say unto Jesus, at the 
last day, 0 Jesus, son of Mary, hast thou said 
unto men : Take me and my mother for two 
gods beside God?" Sonship is denied Christ. 
"This was Jesus the son of Mary * * It is not 
meet for God, that he should have any son." 
"If God had been minded to have Lad a son. 
he had surely chosen what he pleased out of 
that which he had created, but far be such a 
thing from him ; he is the sole the Almighty 
God." The true position of Christ is that of 
servant. "Christ doth not proudly disdain to 
be a servant unto God." "Jesus is no other 
than a servant, whom we favored with the gift 
of prophecy; and we appointed him for an ex- 
ample unto the children of Israel." "Jesus the 
son of Mary said: O children of Israel-, verily 
I am the apostle of God sent unto you, con- 
firming the law which was delivered before. 



25 

m-e and bring good tidings of an apostle who 
shall come after me, and whose name shall be 
Ahmed." 

Notwithstanding the position which Christ 
occupies as the second person of the trinity, in 
the Bible, is denied him, some of his functions 
as such are retained. He appears as a second 
Adam, whilst the existence of a second cove- 
nant is ignored. "Verily the likeness of Je- 
sus in the sight of God is as the likeness of 
Adam." He is the "Word." "When the an- 
gels said, O Mary, verily God sendeth thee 
good tidings, that thou shalt bear the Word, 
proceeding from himself: his name shall be 
Christ Jesus the son of Mary, honorable in 
this world and in the world to come, and one 
of those who approach near to the presence of 
God." "This was Jesus, the son of Mary; the 
Word of truth concerning whom they doubt." 
He sets up his kingdom and appoints his apos- 
tles. "Jesus the son of Mary said to the apos- 
tles, who will be my assistants with respect to 
God? The apostles answered, we will be the 
assistants of God." His crucifixion and ascen- 
sion are recognized. "And the Jews devised 
a stratagem against him; but God devised a 
stratagem against them; and God is the best 
deviser of stratagems. When God said, 0 Je- 
D 



26 

sus, verity I will cause thee to die, and I will 
take thee up unto me, and I will deliver thee 
from the unbelievers." As already intimated, 
it is said one died in his stead, which of course 
obliterates from Islam the doctrine of his vica- 
rious sacrifice and atonement. 

So also with reference to the Holy Spirit, 
the third person of the trinity. This doctrine 
had been established by the first council of 
Constantinople, 381 A. D. His personality 
therefore, along with that of Christ, so far as 
the trinity is concerned, must be ignored. 
Notwithstanding the holy spirit spoken of by 
Mohammed is associated with the person of 
Gabriel, it nevertheless remains that he is giv- 
en some of the functions of the Holy Spirit of 
the Bible. As for instance with reference to 
the birth of Christ. "And remember who 
preserved her virginity and into whom we 
breathed our Spirit; ordaining her and her 
son for a sign unto all creatures." u Mary the 
daughter of Imran ; who preserved her chasti- 
ty, and into whose womb we breathed of our 
Spirit." "O Jesus, son of Mary, remember 
my favor towards thee and towards thy moth- 
er; when I strengthened thee with the holy 
spirit." "He is the being of exalted degree, 
the possessor of the throne; who sendeth down 



27 

the Spirit, at his command, on such of his ser- 
vants as he pleaseth: that he may warn man- 
kind of the day of meeting, the day whereon 
they shall come forth out of their graves, and 
nothing of what concerneth them shall be hid - 
den from God." 

All things are known to and decreed by God 
and written in an eternal and perspicuous 
book, and this was sent down upon a certain 
night to be carried out on earth. There is not 
a single grain in the dark parts of the earth, 
nor a green or dry thing which is not written 
in this book. God carries oat his decrees so 
that no accident happens to men, all having 
been prearranged. The secrets of the future 
are found in God's book, and there is no se- 
curity against the day of their fulfillment. 
Each one shall be granted a portion of happi- 
ness as prearranged. Life shall not be pro- 
longed nor diminished, it is fixed. Nations 
have their appointed time, and nothing shall 
destroy them ere that time comes, and when 
it arrives nothing shall respite them. 

One person is predestinated to be a believer, 
and another an unbeliever. ]STo soul can die 
unless by permission of God, according to 
what is written in the book concerning the de- 
termination of things. With God everything 



28 

is regulated according to a determined meas- 
ure, and when the most excellent reward of 
paradise is predestinated for a man he shall 
enter in and enjoy it. 

God is not only the creator but the preserv- 
er. He exercises a government over the 
world and his creatures, dealing with an al- 
mighty hand. He provides food for man and 
beast. He has preserved the knowledge of 
himself among men, and spares the lives of the 
wicked that he may bring them to his design- 
ed punishment. Mohammed recognized that 
it was by God's providence that he was ena- 
bled to make his mighty conquests. 

As to angels, we find included among the 
the spiritual beings of Islam, the Genii, who 
occupy a place between angels proper and 
man. They correspond with the Shedim of 
the Midrash and Talmud. They are made of 
fire; are subject to death, and are punished 
in hell along with lost men. The angels prop- 
er are made also out of fire and stand between 
God and man, and are legions in number. 
They aid in the spread of Islam, and act in the 
capacity of intercessors with God, carrying his 
messages and becoming agents of death. In 
paradise the}' have their specific duties to per- 
form, and shall render conspicuous service at 



29 

the last day in gathering men to judgment. 
The chief of them are Gabriel, the holy spirit, 
and giver of revelations; Michael, the patron 
of the Jews; Azrael, the angel of death, as 
found in the apocryphal epistle of Barnabas; 
and Israphel, or Uriel, who shall sound the 
resurrection trumpet. 

The Devil is made of subtle lire; is a strate- 
gist full of wiles; a deceiver and seducer, and 
is aided in his work by his demons. He has 
seduced man and become his bitterest enemy, 
and is the patron of unbelievers, who invoke 
his aid and that of his demons. He, with all 
his host are tormented in hell. 



CHAPTER III. 



Comparison as to Anthropology and 
soteriology. 

With the repudiation of the doctrine of the 
trinity, of course no connected or satisfactory 
presentation of Anthropology or Soteriology 
is to be expected in the Koran. We find how- 
ever, disconnected allusions are made to the 
Bible doctrines upon these points. As we 
have already seen, man was created from dust, 
and the first pair were the progenitors of the 
race. "But as for thee 0 Adam, dwell thou 
aud thy wife in paradise; and eat of the fruit 
thereof wherever ye will; but approach not 
this tree, lest ye become of the number of the 
unjust. And Satan suggested to them both, 
that he would discover unto them their naked- 
ness, which was hidden from them; aud he 
said Your Lord hath not forbidden you this 
tree for any other reason but lest ye should 
become angels, or lest ye beconre immortal. 
And he sware unto them, saying, verily I am 



31 

one of those who counsel you aright, and he 
caused them to fall through deceit. And when 
they had tasted of the tree, their nakedness 
appeared unto them, and they began to join 
together the leaves of paradise to cover them- 
selves. And their Lord called to them saying, 
Did I not forbid you this tree; and did I not 
say unto you, verily Satan is your declared en- 
emy? They answered, 0 Lord, we have dealt 
unjustly with our own souls; and if thou for- 
give us not, and be not merciful to us, we shall 
surely be of those who perish. God said, Get 
ye down, the one of you an enemy unto the 
other; and ye shall have a dwelling place up- 
on earth, and a provision for a season. He 
said, Therein shall ye live, and therein shall 
ye die, and from thence shall ye be taken forth 
at the resurrection." The fact is recognized 
that since man is in a fallen condition, God 
would be just if he cut all oft. "If God should 
punish men for their iniquity he would not 
leave on the earth any moving thing." God's 
curse rests upon man. "He whom God hath 
cursed, and with whom he hath been angry, 
having changed some of them into apes 
and swine, and who worship Taghut, they are 
in the worse condition, and err more widely 
from the straightness of the path." In his sin- 



32 

fal condition man is depraved, impatient, and 
complaining; unthankful to God: prone to 
evil; perverse. " T he y have hearts by which 
they understand not, and they have eyes by 
which they see not, and they have ears by 
which they hear not." "Verily we have cast 
veils over their hearts, lest they should under, 
stand the Koran.''" He is doomed to despair 
if left to himself. "On that day the unjust 
person shall bite his hands for anguish and de- 
spair, and shall sav, 0 that I had taken the 
way of truth with the apostle." But pardon 
may be found by the transgressor. "He who 
doeth evil, or injureth his own soul, and after- 
ward asketh pardon of God, shall find God 
gracious and merciful." Contrary however, 
to the teaching of the Bible, Islam teaches 
that abilty limits obligation. "God will not 
force any soul beyond its capacity." "We will 
not impose any difficulty on a soul except ac- 
cording: to its ability." The sinful soul is un- 
able to believe except by the divine aid or per- 
mission. "No soul can believe but by the per- 
mission of God ; and he will pour out his in- 
dignation upon those who will not under- 
stand." Repentance is enjoined and accept- 
ance is assured through it. "But whosoever 
shall repent after his iniquity, aud amend, 



38 

verily God will be turned unto him, for God 
is inclined to forgive and be merciful." But 
unlike the Bible, no repentance is accepted in 
the hour of death. "No repentance shall be 
accepted from those who do evil until the time 
when death presenteth itself unto one of them 
and he saith, verily I repent now." "Verily 
they who believe not, and die in their unbe- 
lief, the world full of gold shall in no wise be 
accepted for any of them, even though he 
should, give it for his ransom." "It is a day 
whereon one soul shall not be able to obtain 
anything in behalf of another soul." "No soul 
shall acquire any merits or demerits but for 
itself." The washing of regeneration comes 
from on high. " lie sent down upon you wa- 
ter from heaven, that lie might thereby purify 
you, and take from you the abomination o 
Satan, and that he might confirm your hearts 
and establish your feet thereby." Righteous- 
ness does not consist in formality, but in doing 
the deeds of a believer. "It is not righteous- 
ness that ye turn your faces in prayer towards 
the east and the west, but righteousness is of 
him who believeth in God and the last day, 
and the angels, and the scriptures, and the 
prophets; who giveth money for God's sake 
unto his kindred and unto orphans, and the 
E 



34 

needy, and the stranger, and those who ask, 
and for redemption of captives; who is con- 
stant at prayer and givcth alms; and of those 
who perform their covenant, when they have 
covenanted, and who "behave themselves pa- 
tiently in adversity and hardships, and in times 
of violence, these are they who are true, and 
these are they who fear God." Perseverance 
is taught, but this of course is in Islam. "Per- 
severe with patience, for God is with those 
who persevere." 

With such Bible characteristics as these re- 
tained, whilst the Bible mode of salvation is 
ignored, the question arises, what is the mode 
of salvation promulgated by Mohammed? 
This is found to be justification by faith in Is- 
lam, and good works. Implicit faith and trust 
in the teachings of Islam is wrought into the 
very nature of the Moslem. To bim Satan's 
service brings destruction, and he is warned 
likewise that worldliness will bring like re- 
sults. He must seek a higher and better life, 
and this through the only way revealed to 
man, and that is by embracing Islam, the right 
and true religion. This, he is informed, is for 
man's enlightenment, and those who resist it 
shall be punished, and that punishment shall 
be nothing short of hell. The faithful are 



35 

those who believe in God, angels, the scrip- 
tures and apostles, and they must continue in 
their belief in the face of all persecution. 
They must separate themselves from all who 
are not Moslems. Jews and christians are the 
objects of reproach and contempt, no friend- 
ship being entertained for them. Infidels ot 
whatever kind are to be looked upon as no 
better than cattle. A distinction is to be made 
between those claiming to have the true relig- 
ion and those who have in ages past promul- 
gated it. Assuming that Jew3 and christians 
are apostates, they are to be repudiated, but 
the teachings of Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Ja- 
cob, Jesus, and the other prophets, are to be 
accepted and obeyed. But if Jews and chris- 
tians embrace Islam, they are to be admitted 
into the number of the faithful. Islam once 
embraced must be kept inviolate. To forge 
a lie against it is a terrible crime. All that a 
man has he must consecrate to it, but is assur- 
ed that if he does so, it will be to him a source 
of great worldly increase, and if he is persecu- 
ted for his faith, it shall bring him a great re- 
ward in the life to come. He must reverently 
turn his face toward the temple of God at 
Mecca, when he worships; reverence the apos- 
tles, and not presume to accept some of them 



m 

and reject others, and above all he must not 
doubt Mohammed, the illiterate prophet. 
Proseh T tes to Islam from whatever nation, if 
repentant, are to be accepted and included in 
the number of the saved. The Koran is to be 
accepted as revealing all that the believer 
needs to know in matters of faith and practice, 
and as that which will deliver man from the 
power of Satan, and which excuses the believ- 
er if circumstances prevent him from giving 
it a constant and careful perusal, after he has- 
been faithful in giving alms and offering pray- 
er. Divine aid is granted to the true believers 
in their duty, and no crime is to be attributed 
to the apostle. Warning is given that disobe- 
dience will be punished with hell, and that 
those who take their portion in this life, will 
receive none in the life to come. Scoffers shall 
be punished, and the sedition of the few shall 
bring punishment upon all Moslems. Hypo- 
crites shall reap the punishment of perdition;, 
whilst foreign faithful followers of Mohammed 
shall reap a great reward. Due penance is to 
be undergone in the performance of religious 
duty, and that teaching is to be regarded spu- 
rious which does'^not inculcate the* giving of 
alms. The believer who works righteousness 
shall obtain paradise, which shall bring to him 



37 

untold good. Revilings and defamations 
among the faithful are not to be tolerated, and 
all disputes are to be settled by God and the 
prophet. Necessity relieves fiom culpability 
in the violation of the law. The Caaba, or ho- 
ly house of Islam, is not to be desecrated, and 
he who profanes Mecca shall be tormented. 
Those who die for Islam shall be raised in a 
glorious resurrection, and shall be rewarded 
with paradise. If the apostle intercedes with 
God for any one that intercession is likely to 
be effectual. 

With such teachings as these, Moslems are 
held to the faith of Islam. The reward of 
eternal happiness is offered to them, not by 
the vicarious work of another, but through the 
mercy of God granted upon the ground of 
their good works, and faithful performance of 
duty. "But he only shall visit the temples of 
God who believeth in God and the last day, 
and is constant at prayer, and payeth the legal 
alms, and feareth God alone.' 5 The Moslem 
then, is taught that the ground of his accept- 
ance is good works, and in these he must ex- 
cel, being assured that in the day of judgment 
he will receive a reward therefor because of 
their merit, and this reward shall be of a ten- 
fold character, and shall be the felicity of par- 



38 

adisc. He is taught that his righteousness and 
consequent justification are accorded him on 
this ground alone. "A burdened soul shall 
not bear the burden of another; and that 
nothing shall be imputed to a man for righte- 
ousness, except his own labor." Of the pre- 
scribed good works or religious duties and 
ceremonies of Islam, though conforming in 
many particulars to the ethics of the Bible, it 
is not pertinent to this discussion to speak. 



CHAPTER IV. 



Comparison as to Eschatology. 



When we come to the eschatology of Islam 
we are no less struck with the amount of truth 
here carried over from the Bible to the Koran. 
The doctrine of the immortality and conscious 
experiences of the soul after this life, and the 
resurrection of the body, are fundamental te- 
nets of this form of belief. The Moslem is 
taught that this is not a world of retribution, 
where each soul gets the just reward of its 
deeds, whether they are good or bad, but the 
soul is immortal, and that in a future life it 
shall come into the presence of God, where 
it may receive mercy and a better reward than' 
this life gives, if it is righteous; and where it 
may receive a grievous punishment, if it is un- 
righteous. He is taught that in this life he is 
to prepare for the life to come, and if he neg- 
lects to do so, there shall not be granted to 
him an opportunity for belief and repentance 
after death. At death the soul may dwell, as 



40 

some suppose, in the shape of a white bird, 
under God's throne; or go immediately into 
the full enjoyment of paradise, if of sufficient- 
ly high rank to do so; or may partake, in the 
shape of a green bird, of a certain amount of 
happiness therein; r or if only an ordinary be- 
liever, it stays with Adam in the lowest heav- 
en; or near the grave where the body has 
been laid; or in the well Zem Zem; or in the 
trumpet w T hich is to call to resurrection. The 
body is laid away in the grave, there to re- 
main until the last day, at which time there 
shall be a resurrection of the dead for Genii, 
men, demons, and animals. The approach of 
that day shall be heralded by signs like those 
mentioned in the Bible; men wishing to be 
hidden from the wrath of God; the sun dark- 
ened and the moon turned into blood; wars 
and commotions, such as of Gog and Magog. 
Three trumpet blasts shall usher it in. The 
first shall fill all mankind with uncontrollable 
consternation, and dissolve the present order 
of things; the second shall annihilate all 
things but paradise and hell and their con- 
tents; the third, forty years later, shall restore 
the souls to the bodies in their graves, where 
they shall remain till their final fate is decided. 
The souls having claimed their bodies, an 



41 

angel visits them in their graves and tells 
them of the approach of the two inquisitors, 
Monkir and "Nakir, who question them as to 
their belief in God and the prophet If believ- 
ing, they are comforted; if inh'dels, they are 
tormented. Then follows the judgment, which 
shall last one hundred and fifty thousand 
years. In this judgment the apostles and 
prophets who have preached to men, shall con- 
front them as witnesses. A book of accounts 
will be opened, and each one will be judged in 
accordance with his deeds in life. If those 
who have neglected their privileges now cry 
for mercy, they shall receive no answer, and 
no excuse wil 1 be accepted; but God will en- 
ter a just decree against each one; and no one 
shall be able to deliver the condemned out of 
God's hand. When the judgment is over, the 
righteous shall pass into paradise to the right 
hand, and the wicked into hell on the left 
hand, and the new heavens and new earth 
shall appear. All mankind will be called up- 
on to pass to their final abode over the bridge 
al Sirat, finer than a hair, and narrower than 
the edge of a sword, beset with thorns, stretch- 
ed across the infernal abyss. The wicked will 
tumble headlong therefrom into the gulf be- 
low, where they shall meet their doom in tor- 
F 



42 

ments. u The companions of the left hand * 
* * shall dwell amid burning winds and scald- 
ing water, under the shade of black smoke, 
neither cool nor agreeable," presided over by 
nineteen angels; a place whose roof and floor 
are fire; whose smoke ascendeth in three col- 
umns, which shall furnish no shade from the 
heat nor protection from the flame: where 
sparks shoot forth large as towers, resembling 
yellow camels in color; where the condemned 
are taken by the forelock and feet and cast in 
among the other lost human beings and Genii, 
to make up that fuel of sinners and stones 
whereby the flames are made to rage; where 
they are dragged about by their scalps on 
their faces, and scorched and boiled, the flame 
and smoke surrounding them as a pavilion, 
whilst they writhe their mouths with pain and 
anguish; where the}' shall swallow down fire, 
and have boiling water to drink which shall 
burst their bowels, and this water shall be fil- 
thy corruption, supped little by little and swal- 
lowed with iifficu ty because of its nauseous- 
ness; where the food is ever ready to choke 
him who swalloweth it. and which shall con- 
sist of the fruit of the tree al Zakkum, and 
which, as the dregs of oil, shall boil in the bel- 
lies of the damned. Here, with garments of 



43 

fire fitted to the body and loaded with collars 
and chains; with boiling water poured on 
their heads, and skin and bowels dissolved; 
beaten with iron maces, the lost shall wail and 
bemoan themselves. So often as the fire there- 
of subsides it is rekindled, and whilst death 
shall stare with hideous e} 7 es from every quar- 
ter, no death shall come, but the torment shall 
be perpetual. This horrid region is separated 
from paradise by a veil, but the true believers 
"shall laugh the infidels to scorn," lying on 
couches, they shall look down upon them in 
hell. 

Such is the hell of Islam. It is divided in- 
to seven compartments: the first for lost Mo- 
hammedans; the second for Jews; the third 
for Christians; the fourth for Sabians; the 
fifth for Magians; the sixth for idolaters; and 
the seventh for hypocrites. Out of this place, 
Mohammedans will be eventually taken, but 
the others never. 

The righteous however, pass safely over the 
bridge al Sirat into paradise, the gates of 
which will be found wide open, and the 
guards will say, "Peace be on you." They 
are met at one of the eight gates by beautiful 
youths and angels and assigned to their prop- 
er degree of happiness, in accordance with 



44 

their position in life, of prophet, teacher, mar- 
tyr, or believer. Here they shall find the sev- 
en heavens, a place of security; with palaces 
built with high apartments, the one over the 
other, and mansions; and delicious dwellings; 
where no sun or moon is seen, though filled 
with light and beauty; where are "delightful 
meadows/' "perpetual shades," gardens of 
perpetual abode and pleasure, watered by riv- 
ers; and wherein is enjoyed whatsoever the 
soul desires, even food perpetual, in the sever- 
al sorts of fruit which have a mutual resem- 
blance to each other. With easy digestion 
amid fountains and These shades, they shall be 
clothed in green garments of fine silks and 
brocades, and satin, and adorned with brace- 
lets of gold and pearls; and shall repose on 
thrones or on couches, the linings whereof 
shall be of thick silk, interwoven with gold, 
and adorned with precious stones; provided 
with green cushions, and all laid upon beauti- 
ful carpets. Having quaffed from the pond of 
the prophet, which is supplied by the rivers 
of paradise, and which are whiter than milk, 
and whose perfume outrivals that of musk, 
the righteous are ministered to by the heaven- 
ly attendants. As they repose on their couch- 
es opposite one another, youths approach who 



\ 



45 

continue in their bloom forever. Also the fair 
virgins of paradise, beautiful and agreeable 
damsels with swelling breasts, having large 
black eyes, resembling pearls hidden in their 
shells, with complexions like rubies and pearls, 
and who are kept in a pavilion from public 
view. These come with vessels of silver and 
goblets and bottles of silver like shining glass, 
and a cup to serve out pure wine, sealed, the 
seal of which is musk, the measure thereof de- 
termined only by the wish, and which is 
mixed with the water of Zenjebil, a fountain 
in paradise named Salsabil, and by the drink- 
ing of which the head shall uot ache, nor the 
reason be disturbed. They shall bring flesh 
of birds, such as shall be desired, and fruits 
from the two dark green gardens near at hand, 
wherein are fountains pouring forth an abun- 
dance of water, and palm and pomegranate 
trees, and the provision shall be prepared mor- 
ning and evening. 

Thus shall the faithful delight themselves, 
drinking from a cup filled from a limpid foun- 
tain, and calling for many sorts of fruit and 
drink. Near them shall be the virgins of par- 
adise, refraining their looks from beholding 
any beside their spouses, having large black 
eyes resembling the eggs of an ostrich covered 



46 

with feathers, from the dust; virgins created 
by a 'peculiar creation, beloved by their hus- 
bands, and of equal age with them. Amid the 
lote trees, free from thorns, and trees of mauze 
loaded regularly with their produce from top 
to bottom; in shady groves, the faithful enjoy 
wives subject to no impurity. In the assem- 
bly of truth, in the presence of the most potent 
king, they shall hear no vain discourse, but 
peace. All grudges shall be removed, and 
they shall praise God who has directed them 
into their felicity ;• and realize that the good 
will of God is indeed an excellent reward. 
They now see that they who believed and fled 
their country, and employed their substance 
and their persons in defense of God, s true re- 
ligion, are granted the highest degree of honor 
with God, and are supremely happy, happy in 
being admitted to paradise, where they shall 
remain so long as the heavens endure, beside 
being assured that the Lord will be pleased to 
add unto them bliss, a bounty which shall not 
be interrupted. They shall be perfectly satis- 
fied, not wishing for any change in their state. 

Closing Remarks. 

If such is the relation existing between Is- 
lam and the true religion, what course natu- 



47 

rally suggests itself as most likely to reach the 
Moslem's mind and heart and win him to the 
faith of Christ? We should not be content 
with spending our energies upon the poor, the 
ignorant, and obscure, but boMty press the 
•claims of the gospel upon the affluent, the edu- 
cated and influential. Like Paul, the great 
apostle to the Gentiles, in Athens, we should 
storm the citadel itself, and at the close of 
each attack force them to say, "We will hear 
ihee again of this matter." We should im- 
press upon them that the missionaries of the 
cross are not "infidel dogs," but men whom 
nations delight to honor; men, who like Jes- 
sup, have the esteem and confidence of the 
many millions of their countrymen, and whose 
services are sought in behalf of the interests of 
the nation in Mohammedan countries; but 
who can rise above all considerations of earth- 
ly honor and emoluments, and continue the 
simple embassadors of Christ, instead of be- 
coming the embassadors of earthly kingdoms, 
feeling that the interests of his kingdom are 
paramount to those of an}- earthly kingdom. 
It would seem we should press home to him 
the truth that all, and more than all, that he 
finds in the Koran as a rule of faith and prac- 
tice, which is of any value to him, is to be 



48 

found in the Bible. We should urge him to 
follow the instruction of Mohammed, by ac- 
cepting the writings of those prophets who 
preceded him, and whose names are found 
alike in the Koran and Bible, especially those 
relating to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, 
and Jesus, who, according to Islam, were ap- 
pointed to promulgate new laws, aud intro- 
duce new dispensations. We should urge 
him to compare the two and be convinced that 
the fuller and better revelation of the divine 
wall is to be found in the latter, and that in the 
former he has been imposed upon and furnish- 
ed with a distorted, perverted, and misleading 
version of the former. As he has so full a con- 
ception of the abstract nature of God convey- 
ed in the Koran, we should urge him to cor- 
rect the false conceptions given him of Christ, 
learning that he is God's son as a second per- 
son, and that there is a Holy Spirit as the 
third person of this Triune God. Having so 
nearly a correct idea of the creation and fall of 
man, we should press home to him the truth 
that this all grows out of the working of a 
covenant relation existing between God and 
man; and then follow this up with* the doc- 
trine of a second covenant, even one of grace, 
and show him that much of what he already 



49 

holds, actually belongs to the workings of this 
second covenant. In pressing home this mat- 
ter, Christ should be held up as the God-man 
who actually died as a sacrifice for sin, and 
that the soul is saved by a living faith in him 
who has made this vicarious sacrifice, instead 
of faith in any apostle, or body of apostles, or 
system of belief in connection with good 
works. We should clarify his Eschatology by 
letting in the light of divine truth, thus elimi- 
nating from his ideas of rewards and punish- 
ments that which is sensuous, and substituting 
therefor that which is more spiritual. 

By injecting into Islam these and other like 
needful ingredients which it lacks, it is per- 
haps not extravagant to assume that it might, 
under the influence of the Holy Spirit, be 
transformed into the christian religion itself. 
In other words, in the work of evangelization, 
not so much needs to be supplemented or 
overturned here as in some other forms of 
false religion, in order to bring its devotees 
out into the true light of divine truth. In 
short, it would seem that the greatest manifes- 
tation of divine power need not necessarily be 
looked for among the Mohammedans when 
that time shall come wherein nations are to be 
born in a day. 

G 



AID TO EXTEMPORANEOUS PRAYER. 
BY REV. JOHN C. GLIDE, D. D., 
Member of the American Institute of 
Christian Philosophy. 

This work^does not contain set prayers to be 
read or committed to memory and repeated; 
nor any liturgical service to be followed by 
minister and congregation; but one hundred 
and eighty outlines, which suggest to the mind 
a line of thought, and which may be used by 
minister or layman upon any suitable occasion. 

These/>utlhies are not constructed out of the 
author's imagination, but are formed by ar- 
ranging passages of scripture under the five 
heads into which prayer is naturally divided, 
viz.: address to the Divinity; confession of 
sin; asking for blessings; thanking for mer- 
cies; intercession for others. 

The passages of scripture must be mentally 
digested and their truth expressed in the offi- 
ciating person's own thoughts and words. 

We are much pleased with the method of the book — Interior. 
Very suggestive, giving divine words into which prayer may 
run and which will further be suggestive to the thoughtful 

mind — Presbyterian Journal. 
Cloth, flexible, pp. vi, 173. Price, postpaid, 50c. 

M. J. KIEGEL, PUBLISHER AND 
BOOKSELLER, No. 332, Northampton St., 

EASTON, PA. 



LIFE OF JAMES H. COFFIN, LL.D., 

For twenty-seven years professor of mathematics 
and astronomy in Lafayette College; member of the 
National Academy of Sciences, and other learned 
bodies; discoverer of the laws which govern the 
Winds of the Globe. By Rev. John C. Clyde, D. D. 

Gives a view of the inner life of one whose 
career was no less remarkable as a man of af- 
fairs, a teacher, and a christian, than as a phi- 
losopher and a scientist. — Easton Free Press. 

A very faithful delineation of the character 
of the man in every feature which made him 
so loved and honored by the thousands of 
young men who had been under his care. — 
Pennsylvania School Journal. 

This Life should be read, not only by Lafay- 
ette alumni and students, but by every young 
man in the land, whether college boy or not.— 
Somcrville, N. J.+ Gazette. 

In all the various relations which he sustain- 
ed, Mr. Clyde has given us in this book a just 
estimate of Dr. Coffin.— Presbyterian. 

It is a good book for young men to read. — 
Christian Weekly. 

A fine portrait of Professor Coffin is prefix- 
ed to the work. Duodecimo, pp. 373, $1.00 
M. J. I1IEGEL, Publisher & Bookseller, 
No. 332, Northampton St., EASTON, Pa. 



LIFE, LABORS, AND DEATH, OF REV. 
JOHN ROSBRUGH — CLERICAL MAR- 
TYR OF THE REVOLUTION. 

Killed by Hessians, in the battle of Assunpink, at 
Trenton, New Jersey, Jan. 2d., 1777. Founded 
upon a paper read before the New Jersey Historical 
Society ; to which is appended genealogical data of 
all the Rosbr lights of the connection in America. 
By Rev. John C. Clyde, D. D. 

In addition to the "Life and Labors'* of this 
devoted servant of God, we have in this work 
retold the tale of one of the darkest periods of 
the American Revolution — including the fall 
of Fort Washington; the retreat of the Amer- 
ican army across New Jersey; Washington 
crossing the Delaware; first battle of Trenton, 
(at which the Hessians were captured); second 
* battle of Trenton, (or battle of Assunpink); 
battle of Princeton and retreat of the British 
army. In this dark picture of war and blood- 
shed, we see "Rev. John Rosbrugh — Clerical 
Martyr of the Revolution," brutally murdered 
by Hessians, on the banks of the Assunpink. 

Character and services worked up in the 
very best manner. — William S. Stryker, Adju- 
tant General of New Jersey* 
Cloth, large square, pp. x. 101. 60c. 
M. J. RIEGEL, Publisher & Bookseller, 
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A TIME TO DANCE. 



A Sermon preached in the First Presbyterian 
Church of Bloomsbury, New Jersey, By Bev. 
John C. Clyde, D. D. Published by request. 

In this discourse we have set forth the lio-ht 
in which the Dance appears in the Scriptures. 
All the original words in the Hebrew and 
Greek, relating to it, arc examined and their 
bearing pointed out, by which it is shown that 
the modern dance has no sanction in the Word 
of God. 

A vigorous argument against promiscuous dancing. — Pres- 
byterian Journal. 

Price. 10c. 



GENEALOGIES, NECROLOGY, AND 
RExMINISCENCES OF THE IRISH SET- 
TLEMENT, NORTHAMPTON CO., PA. 

A sequel to the History of the Allen Town- 
ship, or Irish Settlement, Presbyterian Church, 
out of print. 

Work excellent.— A. B&yd Hamilton, Esq., Dauphin County 
Historical Society. 

An interesting and valuable contribution to local history.-- 
Bethlehem Times. 

Price, ♦ 60c. 

M. J. RIEGEL, Publisher k Bookseller, 
No. 332, Northampton St., EASTON, Pa. 



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List of Publications. 
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MOHAMMEDANISM 

PSEUDO-SHRISTIANITY; 



OB 



The Koran and the Bible Compared as to 
History, Theology, Soteriology, 
and Eschatology. 



33 IT 



Rey, John G, Slide, D, D., 

Member of the American Institute of Christian Philosophy. 



Steam Press of A. G. Creueling, Bloomsbury, N. J. 



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